Category Archives: Food

This week I will be taking a planned quarterly break. Aside from the traditional holiday planting for the 4th, and a guest post I have every intent of completing, I’ll be off. Above you see my attempt at baking a chocolate cake this morning, for a family birthday. An example of plans gone awry. I […]

I’ve been helping my brother and sister-in-law design their wedding. They thank me occasionally, but all I can think, is, they are letting me do this? It’s wildly fun. She took me to see the space. It boasts triple height ceilings in an Arts and Crafts decor, with standard brown and gold carpet. They wanted […]

How, you might wonder, do High WASP women keep their weight where they want it? For it’s true that we tend more often to the slender. Of course, that renders us prone to shriveling in our later years, but there you go. Let me say that I understand and have lived the difficult and unfair […]

1. Buy an organic seedling at your locally-owned nursery. You approve of capitalism, but prefer not to ravage the planet with the chemicals of agribusiness. 2. Plant said plant in your front yard. What? That’s where the sun is, that’s where the tomato plant is going, the neighbors will understand. And no, we don’t think […]

To some, Swedish home style means something like these below. Seats? I’m not sure. The Grandes Dames among us might dream more grandly. Maybe of Swedish gilt. In fact, as lived, Swedish home design is above all endearing. Made for smiling. Some things are fuzzy, some anthropomorphic. White for dark winters, and color for long […]

It’s time for another giveaway.The fine folks at CSN Stores got in touch with me. CSN has all sort of online shops – they supplied the Rowallan jewelry keep last year. The company also sells mattresses, garden furniture, and things like TV stands. They appear to do almost no marketing, except this bit where they […]

For those of us who like to feel we’ve snagged the best of the best, eating in Paris can cause Street Fair Anxiety. You know the street fair fear of Not Finding The Best, or, Settling For The Not So Good? Wandering from booth to booth not knowing where to stop? Oh. Maybe it’s just […]

Raw chicken is scary. But I like the cooked kind. Much as I love a perfect cashmere sweater, we can’t live on style alone. Turns out we have to eat. And there comes a time for almost all of us when we will be eating alone for a few days. Maybe you’re single and living […]

My sisters are coming for dinner tonight. And sleeping over. In my world, sisters are A Very Good Thing. On the menu? Something that counts as comfort food for Northern Californians. Especially when one of them was a vegetarian for a rather long time. Oh, said vegetarian wasn’t me. I’m very fond of meat. Even […]

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Am I serious? Privilege? Yes. At least when I'm not joking. While privilege can teach you what color shoes to wear with navy blue, nothing beats the privilege of being alive. So let's talk style, in the context of culture. Let's focus on the over-50. For more, please go here. Or you can reach me at my email: skyepeale@yahoo.com. That's the name I wanted to be called when I was 16. Ah. 16....